health alert, a virus for which there is no cure and no treatment, has arrived on our shores. This bug is carried by mosquito and ABC's Susan saulny tells us the signs and symptoms we should be on the lookout for. Reporter: Health officials on high alert tonight as several new cases of a mosquito transmitted virus is confirmed, causing fever, headache, muscle pain, rashes and possibly severe joint pain. Boy, is it painful. You know in the african's language it means bent over with pain. Reporter: The virus is transmitted when a mosquito bites an infected person and that mosquito bites someone else. Symptoms begin three to seven days after a person is bitten and usually last for one week. Officials say there's no known cure or treatment. Little is known about the virus in the United States and for the first time being reported in the northeast with two cases now confirmed in Rhode Island. That brings the total to 41 cases in at least six states, including Nebraska, north Carolina, and Tennessee. The hardest it, Florida. American officials issuing health traveling advisories to the caribbean. More than a dozen countries are dealing with an outbreak, an estimated 100,000 cases. Both people newly infected in Rhode Island had recently returned from the Dominican Republic. Here in the U.S., more suspected cases are under investigation, raising questions about the risk of an outbreak this summer. The chance that this will be a nationwide outbreak is very small to nonexistent but little focal areas of infection and transmission, yes. Reporter: Now, health officials say prevention is the best protection. Put screens on windows and doors, wear inspect repellant when outside and when possible, eliminate standing water. It's a breeding ground for mosquitos. Dan?

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

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